Jul. 7, 2023—Bruna Bomfim chose Vanderbilt Law School’s LL.M. program because she wanted to deepen her knowledge of corporate law and change the focus of her law practice. After earning her undergraduate law degree in Brazil, Bruna lived and worked in Boston and New York for two years before returning to Brazil to start her legal career....
Jun. 20, 2023—Christiana Katsapi entered Vanderbilt’s LL.M. program a year after earning her LL.B. at National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. For Christiana, earning an LL.M. in a nation with a common law system was an important step toward her goal of an international law practice. “I knew an LL.M. degree would enhance my career prospects,” she...
Jun. 6, 2023—Marco Langer decided he wanted to earn an LL.M. at an American law school in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Marco had been a partner at the firm he joined after earning his LL.B. at Curitiba University Center in his hometown of Curitiba, Brazil, since 2009. “My career was going great, and I...
Jun. 5, 2023—Kendall Kilberger majored in mathematics at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, knowing her ultimate path would be law school. She chose Vanderbilt after learning about its unique, three-year JD/MSF program during an interview with a JD/MSF alumna. “We shared a common interest in math, and she introduced me to the JD/MSF program....
May. 23, 2023—Justin Brooks entered law school with an ardent desire to work in the public interest. “I knew I wanted to use the law to help other people, whether that meant working for a legal nonprofit or in government service,” he recalled. A Los Angeles native who earned his undergraduate degree in criminology and justice studies...
May. 16, 2023—Joey Vettiankal felt a calling to become a lawyer while working as a deputy court clerk in his hometown of Henderson, Kentucky. “I was taking a gap year to explore my career options, and my job with the Henderson County Circuit Court involved helping survivors of domestic violence file the required documents to get Emergency...
May. 11, 2023—Divya Bhat decided to earn a law degree while working as a product legal operations manager at a San Francisco-based healthcare technology start-up. She found the legal work with complex regulations safeguarding patient health information especially intriguing. “I worked on intellectual property, contracts, and sales, but I really loved product counseling and working with our...
May. 10, 2023—Lyndsey McDivitt didn’t expect to discover that litigation was her calling during her first year of law school. Her fear of public speaking had persisted since high school, when she had so dreaded the prospect of delivering the class salutatorian speech at her graduation that she briefly considered purposely making a bad grade. Lyndsey got...
May. 9, 2023—Growing up in Traverse City on the shore of Lake Michigan, Susie Ness has always had a strong interest in clean water and environmental preservation. Her hometown is on a national lakeshore. “My hometown has a culture where we are incredibly appreciative of the environment and the Great Lakes, and I took for granted that...
May. 8, 2023—Raghavendra “Rohit” Murthy taught high school chemistry for two years after earning a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry at Wesleyan University and Northwestern University, respectively. Rohit’s original career plan had been to become a chemistry professor, but his growing interest in science policy led him to apply to law school instead. Rohit’s family now...
Apr. 10, 2023—Vanderbilt became Melissa Gerdts’ top choice among the 13 law schools she applied to because of its strong International Legal Studies Program. A native of Colombia whose family lives in Miami, Florida, Melissa focused on international comparative studies as an undergraduate at Duke University. It allowed her to explore the culture, history, politics, and language...
Apr. 4, 2023—Attorney Leigh Rome and judicial advocate Brynn Jones (‘24) were hosted by Vanderbilt’s chapter of the American Constitution Society
Feb. 24, 2023—Nick Prendergast knew that he wanted to return to Washington, D.C., to work when he chose Vanderbilt as his law school. The Rhode Island native had earned his undergraduate degree at The George Washington University. “I love the D.C. area, but I wanted to experience living in another part of the country,” he said. Nick...
Feb. 24, 2023—Miles Malbrough came to law school knowing he wanted to practice in the public interest. A native of Sumner County, Tennessee, Miles had earned his undergraduate degree in social studies at Harvard University and considered pursuing a Ph.D. “I was interested in intergenerational social mobility, and I took a lot of sociology classes that examined...
Feb. 24, 2023—Chase Pritchett’s class in Antitrust Law with Professor Rebecca Allensworth was a defining moment for him. Chase transferred to Vanderbilt Law in 2020 as a 2L to take advantage of the law school’s deep Law and Business curriculum and its national job placement reach. “I had worked in corporate finance at a major bank, and...
Feb. 24, 2023—Luke Kessel discovered his interest in corporate finance law during his spring semester as a 1L, when he took Corporations as an elective. “I entered law school with no clear path except that I knew I wanted to practice law,” he said. “I realized I wanted to practice corporate law while I was taking Corporations...
Feb. 24, 2023—Emily Burgess became interested in a career in public interest law while working as an intern with the Jean Crow Advocacy Center as an undergraduate at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College. The center serves survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, and Burgess saw firsthand how attorneys helped clients understand their rights and what to expect in...
Feb. 24, 2023—Thomas Hildebrand realized he wanted to focus on international arbitration in summer 2020 while taking Professor Timothy Meyer’s class in the subject as a student in the Vanderbilt in Venice program. The course introduces students to public and private international laws governing trade and other economic activities, and students examine how the European Union works...
Feb. 24, 2022—Emily Burgess became interested in a career in public interest law while working as an intern with the Jean Crow Advocacy Center as an undergraduate at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College. The center serves survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, and Burgess saw firsthand how attorneys helped clients understand their rights and what to expect in...
Dec. 7, 2021—Moran is a professor emerita whose work focuses on federal income taxation, including individuals, partnerships, tax-exempt organizations and corporate. The Dec. 8 hearing can be viewed via webcast accessible at the Ways and Means Committee's webiste
Alumni Faculty News Features General News L&B News and Events
Aug. 19, 2020—After graduating from the University of Florida, Joshua Minchin married his high school debate partner and moved with her to Hong Kong, where she was a Fulbright Scholar. Joshua taught public speaking to business students at Hang Seng University, and both worked hard to learn to speak Cantonese. When the couple returned to the United States, they settled in Nashville, where...
Aug. 5, 2020—After earning her undergraduate degree, Natalie Komrovsky worked as a project manager for a translation company in Boston before moving to Russia to work for a nonprofit serving orphans and as an editor and translator for a Russian investment bank. When she decided to return to the U.S. to earn a J.D., she had to...
Jul. 16, 2020—After earning his undergraduate degree in sport management, Jeff Turner moved to Detroit to work as an assistant coach for the men’s lacrosse team at the University of Detroit Mercy. “Coaching was a great job and something I was really passionate about. It was a hard decision to leave the sport of lacrosse and change...
Jul. 16, 2020—Joline Desruisseaux applied to nine law schools and was offered full scholarships to three. Then she visited Vanderbilt. “I immediately felt that Vanderbilt Law was the right fit for me, and I knew my time at Vanderbilt would be worth the investment I was going to make,” she said. Joline minored in French, which she...
May. 29, 2020—The summer after her 1L year, Marisa Papenfuss made a surprising discovery while working in Washington, D.C., as a legal intern in the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: She loved securities law. “Securities laws touch every facet of the markets,” she said. “That really fascinated me.” Her interest was confirmed the...